At least seven people have been killed by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas with millions told to leave their homes in Florida as the storm heads north.
Experts say it is now the most powerful storm to hit a Caribbean island after reaching sustained winds of 185mph and gusts of up to 220mph. Bahama's Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said:"We can expect more deaths to be recorded. This is just preliminary information."Marsh Harbour has suffered, I would estimate, in excess of 60% damage to their homes."
He also said the shantytown known as The Mud and The Peas has been"completely destroyed or decimated" and told reporters Dorian was"one of the greatest national crises in our country's history".Aid agencies believe as many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas have been destroyed or severely damaged and more than 60,000 people are in need of food supplies.
Matthew Cochrane from the Red Cross said:"What we are hearing lends credence to the fact that this has been a catastrophic storm and a catastrophic impact."